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Semiconductor Science and Technology

Three types of electronic optical bistabilities in CdS

M. Wegener, Claus F. Klingshirn, S. W. Koch, L. Bányai

Published Dec 1, 1986• 52 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The authors investigate optical bistability in CdS, induced by photo-electronic non-linearities. Varying the photon energy and the temperature of the sample they find three different types of optical bistability. The switching times are always around 1 ns or below, notably 300 ps for dispersive optical bistability. Optical bistability by bleaching of absorption at room temperature shows a contrast ratio of about 50 between the two stable branches. The dependence on various parameters, including the microscopic foundations, is discussed experimentally as well as theoretically.

DOI
10.1088/0268-1242/1/6/005

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Applied Physics Letters•Feb 29, 1988•13 citations
The authors investigate optical bistability in CdS, induced by photo-electronic non-linearities. Varying the photon energy and the temperature of the sample they find three different types of optical bistability. The switching times are always around 1 ns or below, notably 300 ps for dispersive optical bistability. Optical bistability by bleaching of absorption at room temperature shows a contrast ratio of about 50 between the two stable branches. The dependence on various parameters, including the microscopic foundations, is discussed experimentally as well as theoretically.
Abstract Thermally induced dispersive and absorptive optical bistability of CdS is investigated in a temperature range of 20 K to RT. The influence of the geometry of the crystals, e. g., thickness, surface area size, and resonator structure, on the hysteresis feature and switching behavior is investigated. The quality of the thermal contact between the sample and the heat sink strongly influences switch‐back times. Further, starting temperature, light spot diameter, and pulse intensity are varied in order to find a set of optimization criteria for this kind of optical bistability. Experimental results are in good agreement with model calculations.
The switching dynamics of thermally induced optical bistability due to increasing absorption is investigated in thin CdS platelets, at room temperature. Fast and slow components can be observed during the switching process, they depend on the holding point intensity and on the switching pulse energy. It is shown that the transverse relaxation of the temperature in the sample influences this dynamics. The spectral shift of the band to band absorption edge, at the origin of the bistable behavior, is observed in a three beam experiment.
The switching dynamics of photothermal-induced absorption optical bistability is studied in CdS. The bistable element being held near its switching threshold is switched by a pulse of an excimer laser, which can be regarded as δ shaped in time with respect to the thermal relaxation time of the sample. The dynamics of the switching process is influenced by the transverse relaxation of the temperature in the sample. Under appropriate conditions either a slowing down or a fast switching is observed.